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Beau Walker, owner of the Barbecue Shack, needs the help of Jake Parnell, his one-time rival and secret crush, in a televised barbecue competition. Beau is a proud man, but the stakes are high, and smart, sexy Jake is his only hope, even if being around Jake reawakens the attraction he’s fought for years.

Jake left his hometown, determined to build a life somewhere his sexuality wouldn’t hurt his family’s restaurant business—and far away from hunky, obstinate Beau Walker. Then his twin, Josh, is killed, and Jake returns to support his brother’s wife and children. Despite his reservations, he agrees to go head-to-head against Beau on national television. Between stress and grief, as well as pride and determination, only one thing is certain—the heat between Beau and Jake extends well beyond the kitchen.

After the death of his twin, Jake has moved back to his hometown to pick up the pieces of the life his brother left behind. He's cooking and running the family restaurant, and taking care of his brother's wife and children. He's run ragged and is about to reach the end of his rope when he's told about a televised barbecue competition his brother was set to compete in against Jake's enemy, Beau. Jake and Beau have been enemies since high school and Jake has no interest in changing that, no matter how attracted he is to Beau. Beau can admit that he was a jerk to Jake because he was attracted to him and felt that he wasn't as good as Jake. He can see that Jake is hanging on by a string and is determined to help him, regardless of how Jake feels. Neither man can deny their attraction to the other, and forced time together is exactly what they need.

The narrator of this story was Rusty Topsfield and he did a great job of bringing the characters to life. The narration had a great tempo without unnecessary pauses and allowed for the listener to easily follow along. The narrator did a great job of conveying the emotions throughout the story.

Striking Sparks in an enemies to lovers story, and was really well told! I enjoyed all the characters, both main and supporting. Once the MCs were able to get past the teenage angst, the story moved quickly. I enjoyed this story in audio form, just as much as I did reading it and would definitely recommend either and/or both versions!

Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 4.5 stars
Story: 4.5 stars

Hot Competition

By Katy Beth on Jan 15, 2017 07:01

I always love a romance where the players seemed to be enemies or at odds with one another. Then you add that this is a long term "hate" and it adds to the fun as the facts begin to unravel and truths get revealed. Their very history kept them apart but it was really much of what they had in common. But in many ways I think that if they had hooked up earlier it wouldn't have worked. Jake needed his time away to realize what he really valued and what he really wanted out of his life. Beau also his own share of growing up to do. So now they are really ready to for that next step.

Sweet story

By Diverse Reader on Dec 15, 2016 03:12

Reviewed by Morningstar for Diverse Reader

Another winner in the Dreamspun Desires series! This was an enemies to lovers story with two guys who were fierce enemies from two rival high schools. Jake comes back home to support his sister in law Lexi after the death of his twin brother, her husband, dies. He never thought he’d be back there in a town where he never felt like he fit in. And Beau Walker didn’t help with that when he told him he didn’t belong.

The lesson to be learned by these two is that as different as they are they are also the same. Each took to heart the other’s words when they were young and those words carried them through to adults. Those words were the guiding hand in who they became and their feelings of self-worth.

This wasn’t overly angsty of a story. There was loss and pain for Jake trying to deal with the death of his brother and never feeling adequate to fill his shoes. The journey of these two guys finding common ground for the cook off lead them to finding they had more chemistry than they once thought. The secondary characters played a role in helping these two guys find their way to each other and to understanding they needed to open their minds and stop being so dang stubborn.

It was sexy sweet and funny to boot! The author did a great job with creating the world of Buffalo Lick with its varied characters and all the wonderful food. Now if you don’t mind I think I’ll go get me some of that Texas BBQ!

Striking Sparks

By H.Martin on Dec 15, 2016 08:12

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Jake Parnell worked hard to leave his hometown behind so he could live his life out of the closet but when tragedy strikes, he returns to his hometown to take care of his family. Jake never wanted to run his family's restaurant or cook but that's exactly what he finds himself doing with the death of his brother. He's run ragged from taking care of his family, the restaurant and his grief. When going through paperwork, he finds information on a televised barbecue competition that his brother had agreed to against Beau Walker. Beau and Jake have a long, negative history of miscommunication and grievances between them and a hidden mutual crush.

Beau finds himself just as attracted to the adult Jake as he did the teenage one, but he knows he's not smart enough to ever have a relationship with someone like Jake. He wants to do the competition against Jake so he can bring in more business for his family's restaurant and hire a business manager to handle the books for the finances. Beau notices that Jake is overloaded and does what he can to lift the load, forcing the two men to let go of past issues.

Striking Sparks is an enemies to lovers story which I really enjoyed! Jake's character was heartbreaking and you could feel how close he was to the edge with all the stress he was under and I loved when Beau stepped in to help lighten some of Jake's load. Once both men were able to move past their teenage angst, their relationship moved quickly (good thing cause we were running out of pages!). There was a lot of focus on the barbecue competition, cooking and restaurants but that was totally expected! I actually enjoyed reading about their business and the competition. I also enjoyed all the supporting characters who were well written and fit seamlessly into the story.

I would have loved more story of Jake and Beau's relationship, but overall, I thought this was a really good read!